


I keep closing my eyes (but I can't blink you out)

by fakehaunting



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:22:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28075404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakehaunting/pseuds/fakehaunting
Summary: Bucky avoids eye contact as much as possible. He can hold a conversation without so much as looking at your face, the only exception to this being Steve. Sam definitely knows why and has seen it a few times before; soulmates. A brief moment of eye contact can change your entire life if it’s with the right person; your soulmate.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 110





	I keep closing my eyes (but I can't blink you out)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Fault in My Code](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10505733) by [LiaS0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiaS0/pseuds/LiaS0). 



> inspired by an amazing [fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10505733/chapters/23181228) by LiaSo which will be credited in the inspired by section!! If you like hannibal please give it a read, it's incredible

When he first meets Bucky Barnes, the real Bucky Barnes, he hates him. He’s had his steering wheel ripped from his hands, been shot at, thrown across a room by his face, and injured dozens of times in the pursuit of this man. None of it was his fault and Sam would never blame him for it but that just annoys him more. There’s no way he can hate Bucky for the things that have happened, he’s not an insensitive asshole, but it’s frustrating so he can only mildly dislike him. There’s no ill will but there is absolutely no friendliness there either. 

Bucky avoids eye contact as much as possible. He can hold a conversation without so much as looking at your face, the only exception to this being Steve. Sam definitely knows why and has seen it a few times before; soulmates. A brief moment of eye contact can change your entire life if it’s with the right person; your soulmate. 

Looking into your soulmate’s eyes causes a chemical reaction that makes the colour of one of your eyes change to reflect that of your partner. You take a piece of them with you forever whether you choose to be with them or not. It’s a terrifying and exhilarating thing, but Sam has always felt ready. He’s looked for his soulmate from the moment he learned about them as a child and though nothing has happened, he feels hopeful. He wants that connection, that soul bond with someone who he can love, and isn’t afraid. 

All of that changes when they meet eyes in the middle of a blind panic. 

The spider kid is coming at Sam fast and Bucky looks at him quickly, fear in his eyes. Sam feels it almost instantly; the drop in his stomach that reminded him of going down a drop on a rollercoaster, the dilation of his pupils, his blood pounding through his veins. Bucky jumps in front of him quickly just as they go over the rails. It’s a painful drop and Bucky lands on top of him but Sam’s heart sings at the collision of their bodies. 

_ Mine, mine, mine.  _

Redwing flies off with the spider boy and leaves them by themselves to get out of a tangle of webs. Bucky takes out his knife and wiggles his way around, cutting himself free and then Sam. 

“Are you okay?” Bucky asks, voice rough. 

“I’m fine,” Sam replies. “Look at me.”

Bucky shakes his head. “I… I can’t.”

“Please?” 

It takes a few minutes for him to but when he does, Sam nearly sobs. One of Bucky’s eyes has turned a dark brown that mirrors one of Sam’s, the other its usual slate blue. Bucky’s breath hitches and he raises his hand slowly as if in warning that a touch is coming, and Sam leans his cheek into his palm. The fingerless leather glove is warm and clearly well loved, but the touch of Bucky’s skin to his own is electric. 

“Sam,” he cries, raw emotion seeping through just that one word. His name fits in Bucky’s mouth so perfectly that it sounds like a song. “What do we do?”

“We have to…” Sam can’t think, not with Bucky so close. All he wants to do is touch him and hold him and keep him safe from whatever’s going on outside. “Stop touching me.” Bucky lurches away like he’s been burned and Sam shakes his head fast. “No! I mean, I can’t think with you touching me.” 

There’s a war going on in Bucky’s mismatched eyes and he feels about the same way. 

“We have to get you out of here,” Sam says. “They’re coming for you and you have to be safe.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” 

“You might not have a choice,” he replies, distraught. “They will kill you if they find you and that can’t- I won’t let that happen.” 

“Do not fucking sacrifice yourself for me,” Bucky growls, surprising him with the strength of his emotions. “Don’t do it.”

Sam nods in an attempt to clear his head. Thinking beyond the urge to protect Bucky is difficult but he knows that Bucky’s right. Putting himself in danger would be stupid and he won’t do it, not now. The two of them get up and grab each other’s hand, running out of the airport and into the battlefield together. He can feel Bucky’s heartbeat, bright and alive, in his own body and uses it to ground himself. 

The fighting is brutal and they find Steve in the middle of it all. Steve stumbles when he sees them holding hands but his own bright blue eyes widen once he gets a look at their matching eyes. 

“You’re soulmates,” Steve gasps. “We have to do something.” 

“What do we do?”

“Tony!” Steve screams as loud as he can. “Tony stop!” 

Much to their absolute shock, it works. Tony stops in mid air and opens his helmet to look at Steve. “Are you really calling for a cease fire, cap? Giving up?”

“They’re soulmates, Tony.” 

Tony’s eyes widen and he spots Sam and Bucky’s clasped hands. He has a soulmate of his own, Rhodey, and knows the extent of a soulmate connection and how serious it is. “You’re kidding me,” is how he replies. 

“We have to stop this now,” Steve says. “They can’t be separated- Ross can’t have Bucky and you know it.”

“Fuck!” Tony curses. “How the hell are we supposed to stop this now?”

“There are laws to protect them that even Ross can’t get around. We need to do something and fast because they’re not gonna be able to part for very long right now.”

“Damn you Rogers, only you could matchmake Robocop and the Falcon.” 

-

With Tony’s connections and his secret sympathy for Sam and Bucky, things move very quickly. Tony sends them to one of his safe houses and immediately goes to work with the rest of the Avengers to get things back in order. Truthfully the two of them can’t be concerned with the inner workings of what’s happening despite the fact that it’s about them; they’re too busy with each other. 

“I never thought I’d have a soulmate,” Bucky says as they lie in bed together facing each other. “It didn’t happen back then and I thought I was an outlier or something.”

Sam can’t stop staring at the reflection of himself in Bucky’s eyes. “I once thought I’d found mine but it never happened,” he confesses. “I wanted it to be him.”

There’s a pain in Bucky’s eyes but also understanding. “I know it must be disappointing to be mine, but I’ll handle this however you want. If you don’t want to be with me romantically it’s okay, I completely understand.”

He scoots over so that he can press their foreheads together and closes his eyes. “I’m still shocked by it, but not because it’s you. You’re a good person, Buck, and I wouldn’t choose anyone else.”

“Thank you for looking for me,” he says quietly. “I’ve been running for so long I forgot what home feels like.”

“I’ll make sure you find it again,” Sam replies and kisses him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I keep churning out sambucky fics like it's what I was born to do and I believe it <3 comments and kudos mean absolutely everything to me, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> please follow me on [tumblr](https://lesbianhozier.tumblr.com/), I'm desperate for sambucky mutuals and hey if you wanna use my inbox please go ahead


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